Introducing The Femme Fatale Freelancer Blog Funnel Strategy For Content Monetization

The Google Gods have spoken and longform blogs (1,500 words +) written about original topics with a completely fresh spin are now the golden ticket in digital marketing; especially for female freelancers.

Why?

Using AI and the MECE Method, I’ve analyzed Google’s latest updates and Neil Patel’s reports for efficient content strategies. The MECE method, which stands for “Mutually Exclusive, Collectively Exhaustive,” organizes information into distinct, comprehensive categories for thorough analysis..

Based on that in-depth research, here are the three biggest things you need to know before writing your annual content strategy:

• Niche Never Mattered More. Google will highly favor websites focused around a singular topic that goes deep and thoughtfully into that specific subject matter. For instance, my site helps female freelancers scale their business sustainably and engagingly.
• Long-Form Content that answers intuitive questions will win the SERPs. Moving forward, the top results on a search engine results page or SERP will typically reflect your question answered directly on the page. Without in-depth topics, your SERP position is wasted as users won’t need to click for answers. Format as much content as you can around answering your niche’s FAQ’s and Google will start padding your pockets for playing their game by their rules.
• Human-Created vs. AI-Generated Content: Want to lose 40% of your hard-earned traffic overnight? Then don’t have AI write blog posts or any form of content past a few sentences for your website. Those are real losses being reported by Fortune 500 companies that gambled and lost. I love AI and the content it creates and I use it strategically throughout my business but having AI like Copy.Ai or ChatGPT write blog posts “that get tweaked and published” is nothing short of SEO suicide.

All of this research makes it crystal clear to me that if you know how to structure and create truly original content like blogs, you’re positioned to cash-in big on content in 2024 and beyond.

If you’re anything like most of the female freelancers I work with, you already know that blog content traditionally takes up to 18 months to start paying passive recurring dividends.

But what if you’re a female freelancer or service provider with very limited time to work on your own blog and you can only afford to create a handful of high-quality blog posts that need to convert for you much faster?

That is exactly what this post is all about. Rather, I should say that’s this Femme Fatale Blog Funnel is all about because you’re actually in one of these strategic content funnels right now!

In addition to reading this post that explains how to monetize your best ideas with a blog funnel and the many profitable benefits of blog funnels, go through the other posts (linked at the bottom) to see this strategy in action. If you find yourself wishing you could hire me to create blog funnels for your business, you will know that the blog funnel strategy works.

The Unprecedented Power Of Evergreen Blog Funnels for Freelancers

In a world where the content carousel never seems to stop spinning, its all too easy to get overwhelmed by the idea of creating more content. However, this strategy isn’t about creating gobs more content for your blog.

This strategy is about focusing on the most profitable content you could possible write on your blog by reverse-engineering the most urgent and lucrative problems your desired active buyers are already struggling to solve.

This is all about quality over quantity.

Imagine a Femme Fatale Blog Funnel as a set of very strategic premium blog posts that flow together like a viral new series on Netflix. Imagine that each post in a 5-part series sets you up to be increasingly thirsty for the next part. Imagine the content is so rich that you find yourself thinking “shut up already and take my money I have to be apart of this!”.

That is the power of a blog funnel!

Most bloggers create a content strategy around a large collection of keywords in your niche and attempt to create content around what’s already working for those keywords. That is partially why traditional SEO feels like it takes forever.

Rather than a random series of posts on various topics within your niche, a strategic blog funnel seeks to target the most urgent problems and objections of your target customers based on your bestselling products and services.

Imagine you’re a freelance website designer/developer targeting clients who urgently need a new 5-page website. You’re offering this service at the industry standard price of $7,500, promoted through evergreen blog content. Additionally, you have a range of Divi themes for WordPress, ideal for clients who prefer a do-it-yourself approach.

Consider creating a 5-part blog funnel focused on rebuilding websites after hacking, theft, or ransom incidents. This topic addresses a critical and urgent need that clients with money to spend are researching right now. In fact, many of my highest paid freelance clients have hired me to rebuild their website and content library after something like this happened. By empathetically addressing the trauma and shame your clients may feel and providing a clear solution in a strategic string of posts, you can effectively guide them towards purchasing your product or service.

One client, a local builder called me one June with a community of homes in Naples, Florida that desperately needed to be sold out by the end of Summer. They were spending an average of $25K per month in marketing the community. I convinced them to cancel all of that and give me $3K per month for three months.

The result?

Sold out in six weeks thanks to my Femme Fatale Blog Funnel. The executive who hired me for that company looked like a rockstar, I made a nice chunk of change and I saved that company about $70K in marketing spend while meeting their goal.

So you tell me…do blog funnels work?

Content Monetization Mistakes To Avoid With Your Blog Funnel Strategy

Before we go any deeper into the strategy of leveraging a blog funnel as your new highest-producing asset for generating repeat sales let’s examine the mistakes that will sabotage your funnel.

8 Mistakes That Will Sabotage Your Blog Funnel Strategy

A blog funnel is so much more than a string of strategic blog posts. Without the right approach, this strategy will fall flat.

1. Neglecting the New SEO Best Practices – I’ll go deeper into this later in the series but the biggest mistake you’re most likely to make is following the now traditional approach to SEO content marketing with blogs. That means you will take the best parts of the top 3-5 posts on the first page of SERPs for your target keywords and try to meld them together into a new post by regurgitating old, widespread ideas. Google is now punishing this method by prioritizing ideas, frameworks, and perspectives that are brand new to the internet.
2. Not Solving The Right Problems – For this funnel strategy to rapidly convert into, you must solve the most urgent and important problems of the target audience in the content. Rather than targeting awareness at the top of the funnel (TOFU) focus on the bottom of the funnel (BOFU) and answer those questions and objections with thought-leadership.
3. Ignoring The Power of Email – Not using email marketing is like relying on random rain showers to water your garden, instead of regularly nurturing it with a watering can.
4. Forgetting About User Experience – When creating content, always consider the user experience (UX) and target emotions before, during, and after consumption to ensure a meaningful impact. You also need to consider the functional experience of the content. Ask yourself, how can I make this the most enjoyable and aesthetically pleasing blog post possible?
5. Writing Overly Promotional Content – Despite this being a sales tool, being overly pushy or promotional in the content will sabotage your blog funnel’s success. You are targeting active buyers that want to make a purchase, but you still have to show them the respect of proving you know your stuff in a purely altruistic way first. This isn’t about avoiding like, know trust its about accelerating it properly.
6. Letting Posts Go Stale – You can transform your business with just one super-strategic blog funnel but failing to update and repurpose it is a major missed opportunity. The best way to update the posts in your blog funnel while appealing to the Google Gods? Add more and more strategic FAQ’s to the bottom of the post and create pins for each one linking back to the post.
7. Not Marketing The Blog Funnel On Pinterest – Speaking of Pinterest, it should be at the top of your radar if you want recurring sales from your blog funnels. Many freelancers fail to recognize Pinterest as the second most powerful traffic referral source of active buyers after YouTube/Google. Leveraging Pinterest for recurring sales is like planting a perennial garden; once established, it continually blooms, attracting buyers and visitors year after year. Focusing solely on Pinterest over other social media can significantly boost your marketing. Run, don’t walk to Pinterest for all of your evergreen organic content marketing efforts.
8. Only Promoting Active Done-For-You Services – To get the best possible ROI on your blog funnel, it should promote your digital product suite over your active services in a very strategic way that serves both DFY and DIY buyers. You done-for-you services are not scalable but premium digital products that replicate them like the ones I have all over me website are scalable. Therefore, to maximize ROI on your blog funnel, you need to have at least one digital product that can pay you at scale while you build your waitlist for DFY clients.

These are critical errors that can make or break your blog funnel ROI so please take them seriously and treat them as the 8 deadly sins of strategic blog funnels.

The Key Components of A Femme Fatale Blog Funnel

Now that you know the 8 deadly sins of blog funnels, let’s examine what key components make a highly profitable blog funnel successful.

In Silicon Valley, it is commonly understood that no matter how strong your engineering, it will go to waste without the proper marketing budget and strategy. In fact, it is said if you don’t spend at least as much on your marketing as your engineering and development, then all of your engineering is a waste.

The same applies to content no matter how optimized.

You would be shocked how much money companies dump into developing content they never even publish because they don’t know how to market the content once its created. It’s a massive waste and a shame.

In all my years as a content marketing strategist, the biggest reason why people struggle with content creation demands is they don’t monetize the content they already have to finance their growth.

Imagine you knew that you could create a blog post that would pay you five or even six figures. Would it feel like that much of a pain in the ass to develop it now?

Didn’t think so.

So the key takeaway is that you should be marketing your blog funnels in perpetuity with immense force. In fact, why not pre-sell them before investing the time to create them?

You can do this by polling your audience to see if they’re interested in a topic you’re considering or choose a hot topic from one of the leading influencers in your niche and add your own spin. This is a great way to ethically steal a slice of their traffic.

SEO and Buyer Psychology: The Dynamic Duo in Your Content Strategy

I believe the reason I have been more successful with SEO than most is that I have invested years in understanding human psychology. Specifically, Jungian Behavioral Psychology, applications of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Neurolinguistic Programming and Buyer Psychology.

My on-going and exhaustive research into these topics stem from my desire to understand two key things that I knew would make or break my career:

1. What causes people to think, feel, and behave the way they do in every single situation?
2. How do you create compelling characters that aren’t just relatable but give voice to silent suffering in a way that creates space for hope when it seems lost forever?

I believe that my obsession with human psychology will allow me to truly master the art of predicting human behavior at scale and so far it has served me well in predicting major trends the last 5 years.

Since I believe in constantly positioning myself 18 months ahead of pop culture rather than constantly playing catch-up, this research is serving me well! It changes the way that I approach SEO and gives me a rare edge.

The way I see it, SEO without an understanding of buyer psychology, attachment styles, and the difference between and empowered buyer vs. a disempowered buyer (dream vs. nightmare) is practically pointless. So let’s examine the most vital building blocks of a psychologically-optimized SEO strategy.

The Four Attachment Styles & Their Impact On Your Freelance Client Relationships

Imagine being able to attract only “easy” clients that are confident in your ability, don’t micromanage, respect boundaries and are happy to pay in full in advance? That’s exactly what we’re setting ourselves up for in this section.

To begin, check out what one of the world’s leading experts tells Mel Robbins about attachment styles and how they are formed for you in the first two years of life.

Now that you know your attachment style, let’s look at what that actually means for you and your business.

To better understand how each attachment style impacts your likelihood of having a mutually beneficial relationship with a particular client, let’s review the four attachment styles:

1. Secure Attachment

• Core Wounds: Generally, individuals with a secure attachment style have fewer core wounds as they often come from supportive and nurturing backgrounds.
• Buyer Behavior: These individuals tend to be confident, reliable, and make decisions based on a balanced view of emotional and rational considerations. They are likely to be loyal customers if they believe in the value of a service or product.
• Targeting Strategy: Female freelancers should focus on building trust and demonstrating consistent value. Marketing messages can be straightforward, emphasizing reliability and quality.

2. Anxious Attachment

• Core Wounds: Fear of abandonment, feeling unworthy of love, hypersensitivity to rejection, needing constant reassurance.
• Buyer Behavior: Anxiously attached individuals may seek products or services that offer them a sense of security or approval. They might be drawn to brands that make them feel valued and understood.
• Targeting Strategy: Emphasize personal attention, exceptional customer service, and create a community feel. Marketing should focus on how the service enhances personal worth or provides a sense of belonging.

3. Avoidant Attachment

• Core Wounds: Fear of intimacy, excessive self-reliance, emotional unavailability, discomfort with dependency.
• Buyer Behavior: These individuals may prefer products or services that promote independence and self-sufficiency. They might avoid anything that seems too intrusive or demanding of personal commitment.
• Targeting Strategy: Highlight how the service or product empowers the individual, offers flexibility, or enhances personal efficiency. Avoid aggressive sales tactics and give them space to make decisions.

4. Disorganized Attachment

• Core Wounds: A mix of anxious and avoidant wounds, fear of being too close or too distant, inconsistency in relationships, unresolved traumas.
• Buyer Behavior: Their purchasing decisions can be unpredictable. They might oscillate between being highly engaged and completely disinterested.
• Targeting Strategy: Provide clear, consistent communication and a safe, trustworthy brand experience. Services or products that offer stability or clarity might be appealing.

Targeting Considerations for Female Freelancers:

• Understanding the Audience: It’s crucial to understand the predominant attachment style of your target audience. This understanding can guide the tone and approach of your marketing and client interactions.
• Balanced Approach: While it might be tempting to target secure or anxious styles for their loyalty and engagement, a balanced approach that can cater to different needs without alienating any group is often more sustainable.
• Customization: Offer personalized experiences where possible. This can be particularly effective for anxious and disorganized styles who may value the feeling of being seen and understood.
• Communication: Clear, honest, and consistent communication can build trust across all attachment styles.

Now let’s examine how each one of these attachment styles shows up with the others in relationships. These examples are specific to professional freelancers and service providers but they impact every aspect of a human being’s life.

Secure Attachment with Other Styles

• Secure-Secure: Both parties are likely to communicate effectively, set clear boundaries, and have a mutual respect for each other’s abilities. This relationship tends to be balanced and productive.
• Secure-Anxious: The secure freelancer can provide the reassurance and consistent communication an anxious client needs. However, they may need to set boundaries to manage the client’s need for frequent validation.
• Secure-Avoidant: A secure freelancer can respect the avoidant client’s need for space and independence. They can offer autonomy in decision-making, ensuring the client doesn’t feel overwhelmed by closeness.
• Secure-Disorganized: The freelancer’s stability and consistency can be beneficial for a disorganized client. They can provide a structured approach to help the client navigate their fluctuating needs and expectations.

2. Anxious Attachment with Other Styles

• Anxious-Secure: A secure client can offer the anxious freelancer the stability and reassurance they crave. The freelancer, however, should be wary of becoming overly dependent on the client for emotional support.
• Anxious-Anxious: Both parties might struggle with insecurities and a need for constant reassurance, which can lead to a high-maintenance relationship. Clear communication and setting realistic expectations are crucial.
• Anxious-Avoidant: This can be a challenging combination, as the anxious freelancer’s need for closeness might clash with the avoidant client’s desire for independence. Establishing a clear understanding of each other’s communication styles is key.
• Anxious-Disorganized: The freelancer might find it difficult to predict the client’s needs and responses. Patience and flexibility, along with regular check-ins, can help manage this dynamic.

3. Avoidant Attachment with Other Styles

• Avoidant-Secure: A secure client can respect the avoidant freelancer’s need for autonomy while providing a stable working relationship. The freelancer should ensure they communicate effectively to maintain trust.
• Avoidant-Anxious: The avoidant freelancer might feel overwhelmed by the anxious client’s need for reassurance. Setting clear boundaries and expectations can help manage this relationship.
• Avoidant-Avoidant: Both parties may prefer minimal interaction, which can work well for independent tasks but might lack collaboration. Occasional check-ins can ensure alignment on goals and expectations.
• Avoidant-Disorganized: The freelancer might struggle with the client’s inconsistency. Clear, structured communication and agreements can provide a framework for this working relationship.

4. Disorganized Attachment with Other Styles

• Disorganized-Secure: A secure client can offer the stability and consistency a disorganized freelancer needs. The freelancer should strive for clarity in their work and communication.
• Disorganized-Anxious: Both might struggle with insecurity and inconsistency. Establishing a routine for communication and feedback can help create a more predictable working environment.
• Disorganized-Avoidant: The disorganized freelancer’s fluctuating needs might clash with the avoidant client’s desire for independence. Mutual understanding and flexibility are key.
• Disorganized-Disorganized: This combination can be unpredictable, with both parties experiencing fluctuating needs and responses. Regular check-ins and clear agreements can help navigate this relationship.

So as you can see, taking the time to think critically about exactly who you’re targeting and the reasons they’re motivated to be searching that target keyword matter. The more time you invest in targeting empowered and secure buyers or freelancer clients with your strategy, the less expensive and time consuming everything else will be.

Think about your customer service costs in time, money, energy and attention spent?!

Imagine how much easier life would be if you didn’t have all the confusing drama in your freelance client relationships that you’re sick of dealing with in your personal life, too?!

Marrying buyer psychology with SEO differentiates profitable content from mere content creation.

Femme Fatale Blog Funnel Secret Family Recipe:

1. Identify & validate an urgent problem that empowered & secure buyers in your niche have on-going (hint: look at your existing bestsellers)
2. Select 5 longform keywords that they are using with the intent of making an immediate purchase NOT to learn about their problem.
3. Write 5 longform blogposts in sequential order showing that customer how to solve the problem and prevent it from happening again using thought leadership.
4. Market the blog posts before and after publishing via email, Pinterest and Tailwind Communities, YouTube, your Podcast, Medium and LinkedIn.

The Femme Fatale Blog Funnel Tech Stack

Want to know what tech tools I use to create my blog funnels? Comment below and let me know your biggest takeaway from this post! I might just share some super valuable presents as a thank you ; )Remember, gifting is my love language.

Sources:

· Source: Conductor, “Organic Search Is Actually Responsible for More Traffic Than Paid Search”

· (Source: Forbes, “SEO: The Importance Of Search Engine Optimization”)

· Neil Patel, “How Understanding Consumer Psychology Can Help You Drive Sales

· Search Engine Journal, “Local Search Consumer Behavior Statistics”

· Psychological Science, “The Role of Emotional Engagement in Advertising

• “Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help You Find – and Keep – Love” by Amir Levine and Rachel Heller.

• “The Power of Attachment: How to Create Deep and Lasting Intimate Relationships” by Diane Poole Heller.